How to choose the right African Safari for you?

Choosing the right African Safari for You in Uganda!

You are sitting in front of your computer in North America or Europe and wanting to come to Africa for a safari. You go through some searches and the results are endless. There are all kind of companies offering you safaris. Some are based in your own country and acting as middlemen and resellers of packages, while others are in the country you are thinking of visiting. Discover the Pearl of Africa with Kabiza Wilderness Safaris.

How does one find and choose the right safari?

Look at what you would like to do and see while in Africa. Take a look on the Internet, on this website and find things that interest you.

Avoid the temptation of gimmicks such as free Gorilla Permit (There is not such thing as a free gorilla permit costing 500 USD each - you will pay for it somewhere.)

Make a choice as to the kind of accommodations you want and desire. Most often you can find budget, moderate and up-market accommodations.

Deal directly with a safari company rather than some re-packager in the USA or the UK you will pay much more for your safari, besides the person you are dealing with - most often has never been to Africa and to Uganda.

Find out what kind of vehicles the safari company uses. You do not want to ride across the high grass savannas in a mini-cooper missing all that there is in the grass.

Find out what kind of driver guide you will have and what his capabilities are as far as language, driving skills and cross-cultural understanding. Driver - Guides should be familiar with Westerners and their likes and dislikes.

Ask as to how many people will be on Safari with you and the size of vehicle used for that group. Most of our safaris are private and personally designed with you in mind.

Do you want to pay or can you pay cash or do you want to use a credit card? With many African safari companies you cannot use a credit card since Africa in many parts of it is cash based. In East Africa where there many of safaris take place in countries such as Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda there is usually a 6 to 10% surcharge. If you use a money bank to bank transfer you will be charged a fee, then the safari company will charge you another fee such as one percent for receiving the money. Compare that in dealing with a local travel tour company in your country and though you may not have the fees mentioned above that company will still charge you as they transfer money to local vendor of safari since most tour companies act as an agent for a safari company in the country of destination. We charge 5% for credit cards using paypal on line payment system.

What is the specialty of the safari company? If you are going on a birding safari you do not want a company that specializes in mountain gorillas or the like, but someone who knows where to take you for maximum sightings of the kind of birds you are in search of.

Adjustable tours? Will the safari company you are looking at adjust their tours to fit your time schedule, your pocket book, the number of people in your party, and deal with children should you have them along?

Refunds? A very important point that is often overlooked. Will the safari company give you a refund of deposit? (Deposits are usually 50% of safari with the rest to be paid on arrival) What is important to ask is if in case of an emergency will you get a refund. Reputable companies will give you a refund deducting any permit or reservation charges that they could not recover. In cases of special permits such as gorilla permits in Rwanda, Uganda, DRC they will attempt to resell them and refund you most of the permit cost minus the amount they might have had to pay someone to take a permit at last moment.

These are just a few points and they will probably cause you to think of more. Most safari companies are reputable and of course registered in their country of operation as a tour operator. The best thing is to ask up front and ask again.

Hope that this has helped you in order to plan that African Safari of a lifetime.

Our Safari Marketing Philosophy: It is our hope to expose as many people as possible to Africa, provide quality safari trips at affordable prices without compromise in vehicles and desired accommodations. Taking a low mark up on safari costs, being a consistent provider of the best price and best quality holiday vacations into Africa. Specializing in Uganda off the beaten tourist track, allowing clients to meet the real Africa, its people and at the same time showing you the bio-diversity of Uganda, its scenery, its abundant wildlife from gorillas to elephants with over 1000 species of birds all at an affordable price. I will meet and or beat any other offers you might have from any other safari company . (Offers must be in writing and with in reason and may be rejected if not reasonable and if we have no availability on dates requested.) Such a Safari Pricing philosophy gives you the peace of mind to get the most value for your money from Budget to Up-Market.

Choosing the Right Safari Question?

Information that will help you plan your African Safari in Uganda

Helping you to make the right choices for your African Safari in Uganda

Kabiza Wilderness Safaris